Door safety latch



June 1, 1948. SCHULTZ 2,442,733

DOOR SAFETY LATCH Filed Sept. 12, 1945 I INVENTOR. Few 60 0472 BY W Patented June I, 1948 DOOR SAFETY LATCH Fred M. Schultz, Detroit, Mich assignor of onehalf to Raiford U. Loveless, Detroit, Mich.

Application September 12, 1945, Serial No. 615,870 (01. 292-268) 2 Claims.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in a door safety latch adapted for mounting on a swingable door and so arranged and constructed that when the latch is moved to one position the door may be swung open a slight distance to permit persons on opposite sides of the door to see and converse with each other.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a latch of this class so constructed and arranged that when it is swung to a position where the door is slightly ajar the latch will prevent the door from slamming to closed position.

Another object of the invention is a latch so constructed and arranged that when swung to non-open position it will automatically lock the door against swinging to open position.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a latch of this class which may be mounted on doors associated with jams having difi'erent sizes and types of moulding so that the latch is universally adapted for all types of swinging doors.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

It is recognized that various modifications and changes may be made in the detail of structure illustrated without departing from the invention and it is intended that these shall be embraced within the scope of the claims which form a part hereof.

Forming a part in this specification are drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the door showing the invention applied,

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the invention showing it in closed position,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the invention swung to door-opening position.

In the drawings I have illustrated the invention used with a swingably mounted door 1 associated with which is a door frame having a door post or door jamb 8. Fixedly secured. to the door jamb 8 is a plate 9 and having a knuckle l0 formed thereon through which is passed a pin II which also projects through the knuckles I2 and I3 formed on the swingable latch plate 22'. The knuckles I2 and [3 are larger than the pin II and larger than the knuckle l0 whereat there is considerable play between the knuckles l2 and I3 and the pin ll. Formed in the plate 2'! is a longitudinally directed slot M terminating at the outer or free end of the plate 21 with the lateral extensions l5 and I6. Formed at the opposite end of the slot is the enlargement l1.

Mounted on the door 1 is a plate l8 having the upwardly turned portion l9 terminating in the reduced portion 20 which is provided with an extension in the form of a neck 2! projecting outwardly from which are the arms 22 and 23 to provide a cross head. When the door is fully closed the plate 21 may be swung to overlie the plate I8 as shown in Fig. 3 and in this movement the cross head will pass through the enlarged portion I! of the slot is as will likewise the portion 20 of the member is.

As shown in Fig. 4 the portion 20 is of substan-.

tially the same width as the slot H. The portion 213 is a planar body so as to provide a flat face opposed to the edge of the portion ll of the slot M. When the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 3 an inward'swinging of the door '5 will cause the plate 21 to swing inwardly slightly until theopposed iace of the portion 26 engages the end edge of the slot l1 and thus the door is locked against further inward swinging movement. This inward swinging movement is not suflicient to allow the door to clear the door jamb 8 so that the latch thus serves as a lock for preventing the door from being opened.

When desired the plate 21 may be swung on its pivot pin ll until the narrow slot I4 is in registration with the neck 2| whereupon the door I may be swung inwardly as shown in Fig. 5. This inward swinging may continue until the neck 2| engages the end of the slot !4. Thus the door may be swung open suflicient distance to allow persons on opposite sides of the door to see and converse with each other while at the same time preventing further opening of the door so that a person cannot enter through the door. When swung to fully open position the plate 27 will drop by gravity downwardly until the notch. l5 will engage the neck 2| and thus a closing of the door can not be effected until the plate 21 is lifted slightly to dis-engage the neck 2! from the notch [5. Consequently, a person may swing the door to open position so that the door is ajar and can not be swung further to open position while at the same time it can not be blown closed by the wind.

The combined width of the slot l4 and the notches l5 and I6 is less than the width of the cross head embodying the arms 22 and 23. In order to release the door for movement to closed position the neck would be raised out of en agement with the edge of the notch l5 or IE and thereupon the door may swing to closed position, the neck "2| riding along the slot [4 toward the enlarged portion l1.

By forming the plate I8 and its associated parts as described the device may be used on doors associated with door jambs having various types of moulding. For instance, the plate 9 may be moved either inwardly or outwardly relatively to the face of the door 1 and the portions 20 and 2| would still be in a position for cooperating with the swingable latch body 21. In this way I have provided a safety door latch which has the beneficial features enumerated and which may be economically manufactured and which may be easily and simply installed and which is also very easy to use in its various functions.

What I claim as new is:

1. In a door latch mechanism of the class described adapted for use in connection with a swingable closure a plate mounted on the closure in fixed relation thereto; an outwardly extending portion on said plate; a neck extending outwardly from said portion and of less width than said portion; a cross head on. the end of said neck, said cross head being of greater width than said neck; a retaining plate adapted for mounting on a stationary body or door post; a latch plate swingably mounted at one end on said retaining plate and having a, longitudinally directed slot formed therein, said slot terminating adjacent the hinged end of said plate in an enlargement sufficiently wide for reception of said outwardly extending portion, the face of said portion opposed to the edge of said enlargement being planar, said slot being of less width than said portion and of sufilcient Width for permitting the sliding of said neck therethrough.

2. In a door latch mechanism of the class described adapted for use in connection with a swingable closure swingable relatively to a stationary door post, a plate mounted on the closure in fixed relation thereto; an outwardly extending portion on said plate; a neck extending centrally outwardly from the edge of said portion and of less width than said portion; a cross head on the end of said neck, said cross head being of greater Width than said neck; an elongated latch plate swingably mounted at one end on said door post and having a longitudinally directed slot formed therein extending substantially from end to end, said slot terminating adjacent the hinged end of said latch plate in an enlargement sufiiciently wide for the reception of said outwardly extending portion, face of said portion opposed to the edge of said enlargement being planar, said slot being of less width than said portion and of sufilcient width for permitting the sliding of said neck therethrough and of less width than said cross head, the position of said outwardly extending portion and said latch plate being such that, upon swinging of said latch plate, while the door is closed, into position for extension of said portion through said slot enlargement that upon swinging of said door toward open position said latch plate will swing inwardly until the opposed face of said portion engages the edges of said enlargement for preventing further inward swinging of the door.

FRED M. SCHULTZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 204,643 Whipple .i- June 4, 1878 236,910 Phillips Jan. 25, 1881 2,102,729 McDonald Dec. 21, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number 7 Country Date 4,519 Switzerland Jan. 11, 1892 433,041 Great Britain July 30, 1935 

